Cake Surface Cracking

Our answer

Nigella's Devil's Food Cake (from KITCHEN) is a rich and dark chocolate cake. We assume that the broken surface mentioned is where the cake cracks a little on top. The batter itself is quite liquid and the recipe uses some bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), so the cake can rise with a slight peak in the centre and a little cracking on top and this is quite normal. One of the photographs in KITCHEN shows the cakes still in their tins, with a slightly cracked surface.

As the cake is coated with a fudgy chocolate icing the cracked surface does not show and it does not affect the flavour or texture of the cake. If you want the cakes to rise very evenly and with a flat top then you could try using baking strips. These are fabric strips that are soaked in water and wrapped around the cake tins before baking. They can be bought from baking stores and on-line. The baking time is usually slightly longer with baking strips (sometimes called cake strips), but as we have not made this cake using the baking strips we are unable to advise on exact timings and you should follow the instructions that come with the baking strips.